Stapling device.



ILEPSTEIN.

STAPLING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV.9,191L

ATTORNEY INVENTOR Patented Feb. 3, 1914.

2 SHEETS- SHEET l.

1. EPSTBIN.

STAPLING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 9, 1912.

NVENTOR ZBY 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Patented Feb. 3, 1914.

ATTORNEY ravine. EPs'rEIn, or YORK, N. Y.

STAPLING- DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 3, 1914:.

Application filed November 9, 1912. Ser'iaI N 0. 730,437.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, IRVING EPSTEIN, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Stapling Devices; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invent-ion relates to a stapling device and is adapted to be used preferably in pliers which are provided with jaws and handles for operating them, one of the jaws being adapted to hold a staple and the element to be fastened by it, a button or an article of that nature, the other jaw being adapted to clench the staple so that it is fastened to material held between the jaws when they are swung together.

The invention consists in a device of this type having holding and positioning means for receiving buttons or the like from a chute which feeds them to the jaw having the holding and positioning means in it, and means for insuring the staple being held in the positioning means so that it will be engaged by the clenching jaw to turn the ends of the staple over.

The invention consists in the aforesaid ad justing mechanism which consists in a primary adjustment by means of a yielding mechanism, such as a spring, which bears on the button when the jaws are being brought together so as to give enough tension between the button and the staple to insure the staple being placed in the positioning means and held straight, and also in a secondary positioning means which is manually operated and which swings the staple to its position if it is awry so that the yielding or spring means can pull the button and its staple tautand hold them in the positioning means.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of the device. Fig. 2 is a section of the upper end of the chute which feeds the buttons, and Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the lower end of the chute where it is attached to one of the jaws. Fig. 4: is a vertical section through the j aws showing the secondary positioning means in elevation and showing one of the buttons in place, but'not seated in the positioning means. Fig. 5 is a section similar to Fig. et, but with the jaws forced together showing the primary positioning means under a tension and holding the button and the staple in line while the staple is being clenched. Fig. 6 is a top view ofthe jaws with the chute removed, and Fig.- 7 is a section on line 7, 7, in Fig. 5. Fig. 8 is a detail showing the secondary positioning means and adapted to be operated automatically by the closing of the jaws. Fig. 9 shows a modified form of automatic means for positioning the staple.

The device consists of two jaws 10 and 11 which are arranged in swinging relation, having cheek-pieces 12 and 13 which abut and through which is passed the pivotal screw 14. The jaws 10 and 11 have the handles l5 and 16, respectively, so that when the handles are drawn together the jaws swing toward each other. The jaw 11 forms an anvil 17 at its end, into which are depressions 18 or any other suitable dies or clenching means for turning over the ends of staples. It will be understood in this specification that I describe staples and buttons as being fastened by the device, but any other element besides a button can be fastened, the apparatus of course being altered enough to properly guide the element to be fastened.

To guide the buttons I provide the jaw 10 with a slot 19 which extends into a bottom depression 20 and is widened at the sides at 21, the slot 19 and its respective portions being continued in the chute 22 which has the wings 23 with inwardly turned flanges 24;, these flanges sliding in slots 25 in the jaw 10 so that the frictional engagement holds the tube in place, but it can be swiftly slid from place and filled with buttons. When the tube is withdrawn the buttons are placed into the tube from the end shown in Fig. 3, the slot 19 receiving the eye 26 of the button 27, the widened portions 21 receiving the two side strands of the staple 27 The buttons are put in from the bottom end of the chute, that is, the end shown in Fig. 3, and the staples are placed in the eye ofthe butt-on before the but-ton is put in so that the staple, when the button is up in the chute, points downward with its two ends. The buttons are stopped when they are inserted, by the first button put in engaging a spring 28, and when the chute filled with buttons is slid on the aw 10 and the buttons run down in the slot 19 in the jaw, the first button is fed down over the top of the spring lingers 29 which rest against the prongs 30 of the jaw 10, when the handles are in their normal position and are pressed apart by the spring 31. The fingers 29 are fastened to the spring 32 which extends between the jaws and is fastened by a screw 33 to the jaw 11. The depressed portion 20 of the slot 19 terminates at the inner end of the prongs 30 so that the staple 27 can drop down as shown in Fig. 4. The prongs 30 are cut away at their under sides to form recesses 34 which receive the arched portion of the staple 27, this being shown more particularly in Figs. and 7.

The staple, when it depends from the eyelet of the button as in Fig. 4, will most times be suspended vertically, but the pliers.

are very often used by an operator who is concerned in seeing where the staple is going to pass through the leather or other material to which it is to be fastened, and this causes the staple to swing out of the perpendicular, and sometimes it is out of the perpendicular by reason of catching slightly on its coming out from the chute, but it is rightcd in most cases by the primary positioning means which consists of these spring fingers 29 of the spring 32 and the recess 34, since the swinging of the jaws toward each other swings the prongs 30 toward the anvil 17, but the spring 32 is moved with the jaw 11, that is, the fingers 29 are drawn away from the prongs 30 and engage the under side of the button and yieldingly pull it back so that the staple is tightened against the inner face of the prongs and the arch 35 of the staple is pulled up in the recesses 34 and itis held in position tightly, but the spring 32 is made weak enough so that the drawing together of the jaws is not seriously interfered with or made unduly hard. When the aws come together, the staple is held so that its ends are forced into the recesses 18 as shown in Fi 7 and the staple is clenched. hen the prongs 3O bear down on the staple and cause it to be forced into the recesses 18, and after it is clenched, the pliers can be withdrawn therefrom, because the space between the fingers 29 is continued as a slot 36 between the projecting ends of the two side pieces of the spring 32, as will be seen from Figs. 1 and 6.

To insure the placing of the staple in line with the recesses 18 and with the recesses 34., 1 install a secondary positioning means consisting of a rod 37 arranged in a slot in the cheelcpiece 12 as shown in Fig. 1, the rod projecting up between the jaws and having a T-head 38. The inner end of the rod 37 is pivoted to a lever 39 pivoted on the pin 40 and extending in the form of a handle 41 which is normally kept open by a spring 42. hen the handles 15 and 16 are grasped, the handle 41 can be squeezed to force the rod 37 forward, and its T-head engaging the staple 27, swings it to its position so that the spring 32, through its fingers 29, can lift the button away from the prongs 30 of the jaw 10 when the jaws are swung toward each other.

In Fig. 8 is illustrated a form of'secondary adjusting means which consists of the rod 37 which however in this case is automatically operated instead of being manually operated by the handle 41. In this case the levers 43 are secured to the handles of the aws and are connected with the rod 37 so that when the jaws are swung together the rod 37 with its head 38 is pushed forward, and when the handles swing apart, after a staple is clenched, the levers 43 pull back the rod 37 and permit the descent of the next staple.

In Fig. 9 I illustrate the secondary positioning means which is limited in its move ment so that irrespective of the distance the handles are forced together, the rod 37 only advances a predetermined distance. In this construction the rod 37 is provided with a stop-pin 44 which is adapted to be slid against the cheek-pieces of the jaws and thereby limit the forward movement of the rod 37 A link 46 is attached to one of the handles and also attached to a sleeve 45 which slides on the rod 37 and bears on a spring 48 which abuts on a washer or collar 47 attached to the rod 37. When the handles are swung together, the spring 48 is pushed by the sleeve 45 and this forces the rod 37 forward until it stops by means of the stoppiece 44 engaging the cheek-pieces. This extreme forward position of the rod 37 puts the head 38 in the position where it is holding the staple in place to be clenched, and any further movement in the clenching operation is taken up on the bar 37 by the spring 48. I prefer to fasten the spring 48 to both the sleeve 45 and the collar 47 so that when the handles are forced apart, the spring acts to withdraw the rod 37 Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:-

1. A stapling device consisting of swinging jaws, one jaw having separated prongs, the second jaw having an anvil on its end, the prongs having recesses to receive a staple, the upper side of the prongs being adapted to support a button, a spring between the button and the prongs and so disposed that it bears on the button to yieldin gly hold it from the prongs when the jaws are swung toward each other and force the staple into the recesses, a rod moving so as to engage the staple to force it in line with the positioning means, and means connected to the jaws for moving the rod to engage a staple when the jaws are moved toward each other.

2. A stapling device consisting of swinging jaws, one jaw having a slot with a widened bottom to receive a button and a staple, the jaw having extending prongs separated by the slot, the prongs having recesses to receive the staple, the second jaw having an anvil to engage the staple and clench it, spring fingers on the prongs to engage the bottom of the button for yieldingly holding it against movement with the first jaw to force the staple in the recesses, a chute having a slot in extension of the slot in the first jaw, and means for detachably connecting the chute on the jaw.

3. A stapling device consisting of swinging jaws, one jaw having a slot therein which separates the aw into prongs, a chute arranged with a slot which is in line at one end with the slot in the jaw, the prongs having staple-receiving recesses, a second jaw having an anvil, and spring fingers resting normally on the prongs and flanking the slot in the jaw to permit the passage of a button with its eye between them, the button passing from the chute to rest on the fingers.

4. A stapling device consisting of swinging jaws, one aw having a slot separating it into prongs, a second jaw having an anvil thereon, and a spring on the second jaw, the spring being cut away to permit the swinging of the first jaw and to form separated spring fingers normally resting on the prongs of the first named jaw and permitting the passage of staples between the fingers.

5. A stapling device consisting of swing ing jaws, one jaw having a slot separating it into prongs, a second jaw having an anvil thereon, a spring on the second jaw, the spring being cut away to permit the swinging of the first jaw and to form separated spring fingers normally resting on the prongs of the first named jaw and permit ting the passage of staples between the fingers, and a chute detachably secured to the first jaw, the chute having a slot in line with that of the first jaw.

6. A stapling device consisting of a pair of jaws in swinging relation, one jaw having a slot to form separated prongs, a second jaw having an anvil thereon, a spring secured to thesecond jaw and recessed to receive the first jaw, the spring terminating in rearwardly inclined spring fingers above the prongs, and a spring acting on the jaws to force them apart and force the upper surface of the prongs against the under faces of the spring fingers.

7. A stapling device consisting of a pair of jaws in swinging relation, one jaw having a slot to form separated prongs, a second jaw having an anvil thereon, a spring secured to the second jaw and recessed to receive the first jaw, the spring terminating in rearwardly inclined spring fingers above the prongs, a spring acting on the jaws to force them apart and force the upper surface of the prongs against the under faces of the spring fingers, and a chute secured to the first jaw and having a channel to feed buttons to the slot in the first jaw.

8. A stapling device having swinging jaws having handles thereon, means for directing staples to the jaws, a rod having a limited movement to force staples forward, means for operating the rod when the jaws are swung together, and a yielding connection between the operating means and the rod to permit excess movement of said means.

9. A stapling device consisting of swinging jaws having handles thereon for drawing them together, a spring for forcing them apart, one jaw having a slot in its top to permit the passage of buttons from the rear thereof, the jaw having separated prongs at its end, a spring with spring fingers on its end, the spring fingers lying in recesses on the prongs when in normal position so as to form a smooth top surface for the passage of a button, and a chute with its channel in line with the slot in the jaw, the second jaw having an anvil opposite the prongs.

10. A stapling device consisting of swinging jaws, one jaw having prongs on its end, the prongs being recessed on their top faces, said jaw being adapted to permit the passage of buttons from the rear thereof toward the front, a spring secured to the second jaw and having spring fingers extending within the recesses of the prongs whereby a smooth surface is provided for the passage of buttons from the rear of the first jaw to the spring fingers, and an anvil on the second jaw.

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing, I have hereunto set my hand this 31st day of October, 1912.

IRVING EPSTEIN. Witnesses:

WM. H. CAMFIELD, M. A. JoHNsoN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). C. 

